Deja Vu
by D-Money626
Summary: The Doctor and Martha meet an old friend of the Doctor's, one that he thought he'd never see again, and together they face an all too familiar enemy. This is the first episode of a different Series 4. "It's Déjà Vu!"
1. Get Ready for it All to Change

Onboard an impossible spaceship that's bigger on the inside than the out a black woman sits on a makeshift seat with an excited smile on her face and in her eyes. The past year has been beyond anything her imagination could have thought up. She has seen worlds gone and past, days that will come after she dies and most importantly her own present in a way she would never have thought possible.

It all started out in a hospital where she was training to be a doctor but now everyone knows that story. She is Martha Jones and in there she met a madman…. blah blah blah… Shakespeare…. blah blah blah… flying cars… blah blah blah… Dr. Lazerus… blah blah blah… Farringham… blah blah blah… End of the Universe… blah blah blah… Master. Gee she was beginning to think like him! It's not that she thought any of it boring; in fact the opposite was true. But after the Master and walking the world for a whole year that now never happened she had reached a breaking point.

Everything in her screamed to leave the Doctor because she knew he was looking right past her but while she packed to leave she had really rethought her assessment. Romantically she was in a no-win situation and it hurt. Yes, it really hurt! But, this life… in the TARDIS, was so much more. The laughing, running, and yes even the screaming too was so much more than the Doctor. Maybe she could stay with him just a little longer. After all look at him. He needed someone and it was so obvious. She felt resigned that she could not win the Doctor's hearts but she still loved him and more importantly she was not done with this impossible fantasy. Yes, upon reaching her conclusion she then had proceeded to put back everything she had just packed away and would do so another day. Yes Martha Jones was ready to save the world a few more times!

It was at that time that the TARDIS shook and she ran out of her room into the console room to see that the Titanic had seemingly impossibly crashed into the TARDIS. The Doctor and her had did good on her word and saved the world by stopping the Titanic replica spaceship from crashing into the Earth while the Doctor had had a fleeting romance with a woman named Astra. The Doctor would go on to tell her sadly and yet strangely proudly how Astra's life-force now was spread throughout the universe. Martha pressed him for the details but then again that was the past.

In fact it has been a couple months after that. She's been narrowing escaping dying on crazy adventures, saving the day and she's been loving every minute of it! I guess you're caught up now? Good! Get ready for it all to change…


	2. Deja Vu

Deja Vu

Martha sat on the makeshift seat in the TARDIS, grinning excitedly as the Doctor galvanized around the console. He looked a little more sprightly than usual which was saying something. There must have been a banana involved… probably.

"So where in this bright big universe both dead and gone just as much as it is a to be or not to be… oh, Shakespeare! What will it be for you this time, Martha Jones?"

Martha laughed slightly at this. A year ago she would have doubled over in laughter in complete disbelief but this was the Doctor, and for lack of a better word, this was normal. She grinned, having come up with a clever quip. "I'm the hitchhiker. You're supposed to be the one with the guide to the galaxy."

The Doctor smiled brightly with one of those could you be any more brilliant grins. "That I am! Oh, what would be brilliant for you right now? I know! The planet Caretankerous. Beautiful islands span for miles that just boggle the mind along with some of the most beautiful music. They party Martha! They throw the most brilliant parties! Oh, yes! That's where I'm going to take you today!"

The Doctor began pressing some buttons with the usual fervor and called out, "How about giving me some assistance this time Martha. You look bored over there." Martha shot up in excitement at getting the opportunity while the Doctor quickly instructed her. "Turn that blue spinner right there to the right to the count of three and hold it there until I give you the sign." Martha went over to the apparently called "blue spinner" and followed his instructions.

The console suddenly began to spark, and the Doctor yelled in annoyance seemingly to nobody, "What? Oh what now?" A moment later: "Oh, I am so thick! Old and thick! Martha! Turn it one more right now!" Martha did so quickly, seemingly in fear that something had gone horribly wrong again.

But, the engines had already started convulsing loudly just as she turned it one more. The console began sparking again, and Martha and the Doctor were both roughly thrown away from the console backwards on their butts to which they cried, "Ow!" Everything was shaking violently as they had stayed grounded with expectant looks on their faces but then it stopped and the Doctor got up, with Martha doing so a little slower.

Just as quickly they fell to the ground again, they yelled in unison, "We're falling!" They looked at each other with the widest grins and stayed on the ground until whatever was happening quieted down.

After a couple minutes of mayhem of the console sparking and something falling off it and landing right on the Doctor's stomach, much to his extreme displeasure, everything was quiet as they crashed into the ground with a very large kaboom. Both time travelers got up slowly a little sore, especially the Doctor, who threw off the little object that landed on his stomach in complete annoyance. He absently regarded Martha. "I got this strange feeling in my head right now, Martha."

"It hit your stomach, not your head, Doctor."

The Doctor chose not to answer that, choosing to explain, "It's like that feeling that you've been somewhere before but really it's your first time."

Martha regarded him skeptically. "Déjà vu?"

"Exactly! Pinch me, Martha!" Martha walked over mischievously and did so. "Ow! I was being rhetorical! Well, that answers that question then."

"Doctor, what is outside those doors?"

"Martha, we're not supposed to be here! We crashed, and the TARDIS seems to be dying which only means one thing!"

"Out with it, mister!"

"We've landed on a parallel world!"

"A what?" But her question went unanswered as the Doctor ran outside of the TARDIS with a reckless enthusiasm with Martha chasing him and shutting the doors behind her.

The Doctor gazed about him, eyes wide as bowling balls, while Martha didn't share the sentiment when she viewed an ordinary park similar to her own with people walking about with the London Eye in the distance. She turned to the Doctor, expressing extreme disappointment. "All that… and London."

"No… no… no… I mean, yes, it's London, but it's a London that's different from your London."

"What are you going on about now?"

The Doctor spotted something that made his eyes bulge even larger and if Martha wasn't going crazy than she thought she can actually hear his heart beating loudly. With an air of disbelief acting like he was facing another something he found completely impossible, he gestured to Martha, pointing at the sky. "Look, Martha… in the sky… zeppelins!"

"What the bloody hell?"

He grinned, looking like he was properly fit for a straitjacket, "Rose!"


	3. Where in the World is Rose Tyler?

Martha stared in complete disbelief with a hint of resignation repeating him. "Rose?"

The Doctor calmed down a little. "Yes, Martha, the very same. Lost her, but in this bright big beautiful universe the impossible happens. She's here. Isn't that just invigorating?"

She scratched her head, not quite believing him. "Well, it's definitely something."

The Doctor decided her emotions as confusion so he'd explain. "Right, parallel universes. Got ahead of myself there. Do that a lot, don't I?" She nodded at him in annoyance. "Martha, every decision you make in your life there is always an alternative. You could take the elevator or the stairs, order the cake or the pie, leave home and steal a TARDIS or stay at home like a little girl. Anyways, the possibilities of the alternative happening are like an energy that creates a new universe where things change from that point."

"Oh! Like Back to the Future!"

"That was a brilliant movie, by the way! Had a very interesting conversation about oranges when I met Robert Zemeckis…" The Doctor scratched his head, seemingly lost thinking about that particular conversation, before Martha slapped him startling him. "Anyways, as you found out. Rose was trapped here forced to live a life away from me against her will. This isn't her home but rather a world where her father lives and becomes a millionaire. If I… If I had to take a wild shot in the dark, I'd say she created this one."

"What?"

The Doctor gestured nonchantly which insulted her. "Oh, a lifetime ago she saved her father but then we had to correct that because it was a fixed event. You know… all wibbly wobbly timey wimey and all that goola." The Doctor had livened up. "But the brilliant thing is I'm here! And she's here! Martha we're in the same place!" The Doctor bounded over to Martha and gave her an incredible hug, which she returned, completely happy for him.

Upon breaking the hug, he reached for her hand and took off running with Martha trying to keep up.

Between breaths, Martha yelled, "Where are we running to, Doctor? Great big world… she could be anywhere!"

The Doctor slowed, stopped and promptly slapped his head. "Ow! Oh, where, oh, where in the world is Rose Tyler?"

"Do you know where she lives?"

"She wouldn't be home. Only place she'd never be."

"So a workaholic then?"

The Doctor exclaimed in complete excitement, "Brilliant, Martha Jones! Just brilliant!" He then kissed her on the forehead. "Torchwood!"

Then just as quickly as he had stopped he took off running again with Martha struggling to keep up.

They stopped in front of a large multi-story building with guards standing in front of it resembling those that watched the king and queen in our world all stoically.

"But wait… that's… that's Torchwood? But Doctor, it's all public! Right on the boulevard not at all private or hidden!"

"Yeah, Rose told me about that. Told me she found work here too."

"Wait… how? How did you speak to her after losing her."

The Doctor seemed to let a deep hurt penetrate for a moment. "Only companion I've ever gone out of my way to say goodbye to."

"C'mon Doctor, let's go turn that frown right upside down!"

The Doctor smiled brilliantly and they walked right across the street to approach the guard.

"Where do you two think you're supposed to be going? Do you have an appointment?"

Martha asked him confusingly, "Aren't you supposed to not talk?"

The guard looked at her bewildered. "I dare say madem, why would I subject myself to such torture?"

Martha teased, "Doctor, I think your theory happened a long time before she saved her father."

The Doctor promptly nodded in annoyment and then fished in his coat for the psychic paper. "Sorry we were just going to go see an old friend, Rose Tyler." He retrieved it and showed the guard the psychic paper.

"Yes, I should say. You better go quickly before it hatches."

"Thank you sir!" They both ran inside the building and closed the doors behind them when the Doctor quickly clarified something to Martha. "He's a guard, so he hasn't received proper psychic training."

"If he had?"

"Nah, don't be thick, a guard is a guard no matter what reality."

The Doctor and Martha quickly ran up the steps in the wide entry level room they were in. The windows were large and shone copus amounts of light in making the room seem more whiter and brighter than it probably was.

"So many offices, Doctor. She could be anywhere! Maybe you should ask somebody."

"Nah, great big building. One Rose Tyler. More fun finding her ourselves."

Martha wasn't convinced and muttered something about all men being the same before stopping to ask a business suited man leaving a door, "Excuse me, Rose Tyler, where's her office?"

The man smiled as if the name triggered a memory. "Rose? Oh she's on the fourth floor in our investigations devision. Bloody brilliant that one is."

"Thanks!" Martha ran over to the Doctor. "Fourth floor, investigations. You're welcome!"

The Doctor gave her a very resigned, "Thank you" and both time travelers ran up another couple flights of stairs.

As they approached the investigations deparment they noticed it required an identification card so the Doctor quickly retrieved the psychic paper and put it against it until what felt like a minute later to Martha and probably a couple hours to the Doctor when it beeped and the doors flew open.

People in lab coats were running around in front of them in the middle of a huge investigation of some sort or at least that's what common sense would tell them was going on. "So where is she at?"

The Doctor searched with his eyes not noticing what the workers were buzzing about, not particularily caring about it at the moment, but fell in resignation when he sadly told her, "She's not here!"

"C'mon, Doctor, let's try another one, yeah?"

Behind them, the doors flew open and Martha and the Doctor's body turned to see a short blonde woman walking in with a labcoat holding an espresso that she promptly dropped on the floor in utter shock, exclaiming, "Impossible!"


	4. Everything Same, Just Lil Bit Different

The Doctor smiled like a million watt bulb at Rose in perfect glee thinking of something to say that was clever. "Most people call me the Doctor."

Rose, seemingly having regained alertness, exclaimed, "Oh my god it's you! It's really properly, impossibly… you!"

"Were you expecting…" The Doctor had been cut off as Rose ran to him and engulfed him in the biggest hug possible which practically knocked the wind out of him. Even though it hurt he could not believe how good the pain had felt. "A surgeon?"

Rose pushed him away playfully leaving her hands on his shoulders. "Actually yes, but in this case I'll willingly settle for a doctor."

Martha, who was clearly annoyed to having just been standing there, coughed annoyingly. "How about two?"

The Doctor and Rose broke their google-eyed gaze and contact to regard Martha. "Oh right sorry! Martha, this is Rose. Rose, Martha." The Doctor paused suspecting some tension. "Don't… just don't!"

Martha reached out to Rose with her hand and the two girls shook. "Rose, so wonderful to finally meet you."

Rose responded with feelings that were both happy and yet sad at the same time. "Yea, same to you."

It's not that Rose hated this new woman. Honestly, she just ran into the Doctor after a couple of years of feeling something missing in her life. She had always thought she could adjust to it so she really had no idea what to make of it. On one hand, she felt replaced just like he promised her he wouldn't do and it hurt deeply in her heart. On the other, she was grateful for Martha being there. The Doctor was a lot of things but after his past he properly needed a hand to hold from time to time just to keep him sane. She had a lot of faith in the Doctor that the very fact Martha was traveling with him meant one thing. She was one of the best and the best was very much worth Rose Tyler's effort even if this might end up just being a visit and then back to the stars leaving her behind again. How did they get here anyway?

Martha replied, "I mean it. He's told me so much about you."

Rose brightened at that. The Doctor had told Martha about her. He never did that! Maybe there was reason for some hope. "Really?"

The Doctor feared the conversation would change for the worse so he changed the subject as only he could. "So you said you were waiting on a surgeon. Anything I can do to help?"

Rose walked over to the counter near her to pick up an object positively brimming with energy. "Yesterday I found this on a routine investigation. Now don't jump out of your pants now, Doctor!"

Rose presented it to him and the Doctor had a thousand thoughts hit his head in only a second before exclaiming, "Why that's… that's a hand!"

Rose grinned thinking about a memory. "It's plastic and it was moving when we found it. Living plastic! You don't think it was them Autons Doctor?"

The Doctor was practically jumping on his feet. "Couldn't be anything else!"

Martha once again piped up annoyed. "Hello, Martha here. Autons, living plastic, please catch me up already."

The Doctor muttered, "Oh this is just awkward." Martha promptly slapped him. "Ow! Stop it will ya? It's not my fault I'm rude! The Autons are personifications of the Nestene Consciousness which is a gestalt intelligence with all forms thinking the same thoughts, living the same lives. They inhabit plastic figures, usually mannequins in department stores."

Rose laughed like she had an inside joke. "I found it in Henrick's after a scream was reported."

"Oh I knew something was odd and familiar. Martha I told you. Oh it felt so weird like… like a charlie horse. Remember to pick up more bananas next chance we get one Martha. Bananas would fix that. A whole new universe and I'm picking up the exact same energies as before when I first met Rose. Our first ever experience."

Martha made the connection excitingly. "Where everything's the same but just a little bit different!"

Rose regarded her. "You can say that again!"

The Doctor took on a more serious tone in thought. "Which could mean that this could be a great great big problem for us unless we stop it. Great thing about the Autons is that a singular energy makes it easier to trace. Whatcha say girls?"

Rose grinned questionly. "TARDIS?"

"Oh yes!"

All three began to turn to leave with the Doctor having hesitated to grab Rose's hand but thought better of it. Instead they just walked out side by side with Martha with him bringing the Auton hand with him.

Rose called out behind her to her co-workers. "Super secret mission. I'll be out for a while guys."

Three of the men and a woman momentarily stopped their fervor to wave before the three left out of the doors that slid open to their motion.

The Doctor yelled out, "To the TARDIS ladies!" Soon all three of them were running in excitement down the steps and outside the building to leave Torchwood behind.


	5. If We're Not Too Late

The Doctor turned his key in the lock and began to walk in with Martha. Rose had stopped right in front of the door suddenly with a wave of sadness. "Rose, aren't you coming?"

"Please just… just give me a moment."

This was the TARDIS standing right in front of her. She had properly missed the TARDIS if she had to be honest. This beautiful ship was just like the sister she had never had. Rose even let a tear fall just thinking about it. It was time to accept that the blue police public call box was back in all its grandeur. She needed to realize that once again she had the chance to help the Doctor save the day. With Martha, she should probably add.

Rose walked into the TARDIS quietly with her eyes wide forgetting how big it really was on the inside. After a moment she ran up to the console, where the Doctor was hard at work with Martha, who was trying to help assist him by holding the plastic hand.

Martha held the hand while the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver to scan the receptacle. He raised his head to notice Rose who seemed to have a tear in her eye. "You okay?"

Rose hid her feelings and grinned right back at him. "Course I am. Always. Just, ya, know… lots to take back at once."

Martha shot her a courtesy smile. After walking the Earth for a year and then seeing the TARDIS again, this ship always seemed to boggle the mind. "I can only imagine."

The Doctor had begun typing directions into the console computer trying to use the TARDIS to find the source. Rose stayed on the other side of the console asking curiously, "So how did… did you two get here?"

The Doctor replied absently, "Was an accident, really. Told Martha here the wrong control which triggered some type of combination that made the TARDIS act up and correlating that with a small window left between universes made it enough for us to fall through."

"So you were flying together then?" Rose immediately chastised herself in her head for blurting out that in the tone that she did because she had sounded a little accusatory.

Apparently they took it the wrong way too. The Doctor had stopped what he was doing to eye her while Martha's eyes bulged. "Not… not like that, Rose. We aren't like that."

Martha had to admit that statement actually hurt her but decided to keep it to herself. "Yeah the big lug's right. We're not."

Rose seemingly saw something else in Martha's body language that had threatened her. Maybe she had been replaced by this new girl. She wondered a little bit how long it had been for him when the Doctor had gotten right back to work seemingly avoiding an explanation.

Rose broke the silence regarding Martha and saying, "So… I mean how long you been travelin?"

"A good long year."

Rose became curious. "Any fantastic stories?"

Martha positively gushed at that. "Oh, so many! It's just amazing how many adventures you can fit in just one year. I could go on for days! While this bloke here, he could go for months." Martha laughed and Rose joined her with the two companions finnaly bonding over something common.

The Doctor quickly regarded her. "You're not funny, Martha."

"Oh I am hilarious, Doctor. Rose, let me tell you about…"

Martha was interrupted by a nearby scream which made the Doctor immensely excited that he was going to get out of this situation. "Story time's for later kids! I think we just found our lead!"

Rose quickly ran out while the Doctor stayed for just a second to quickly search his pockets. He pulled out a little tube of liquid before putting it back.

Martha wondered as she noticed what he was doing. "What's that?"

"Anti-plastic. Just being prepared." The Doctor than began to rush out of the TARDIS to catch his two companions outside.

All three promptly rushed inside a nearby little shop where they saw a shadow inside despite it being devoid of customers and closed for the night. As they neared the Doctor became excited exclaiming a phrase both companions had heard more times than they could remember. "I love a little shop!"

The Doctor unlocked the door and exploded in with the two women following to find a mannequin about to swipe at a female shop employee. She was huddled into a corner screaming when the Doctor quickly adjusted the screwdriver and pointed it at the mannequin that was about to knock her out, in effect freezing it in its place. The woman's eyes were closed so her screaming actually lasted a little bit after that. Her eyes fluttered open seeing the hand frozen right above her which made her scream once more in pure horror.

Rose empathized with her. "It's ok. It won't hurt you anymore. We stopped it."

The woman nodded eyes wide as baseballs at the three people standing before her wondering what in the world was going on here and why they were so calm!

Martha asked the woman nicely, "What's your name?"

The woman tried to reply saying, "My name is… my name is…" but promptly fainted.

The Doctor laughed a little at that. "I guess that's what makes you so special, Rose."

Rose had to admit that the statement was very touching despite its rudeness so she smacked him while grinning. "Rude!"

"We need to get part of this mannequin to the TARDIS before we lose its signal. Rose, please take off his head."

The saleswoman awoke temporarily just to see Rose remove the head and promptly fainted again.

Martha was seriously worried. "Is she going to be ok?"

"She'll probably wake up in an hour or two and think it's some crazy dream. Humans, honestly. C'mon now, we need to stop these guys before they become a problem!"

Martha muttered under her breath as she looked back upon leaving saying, "If we're not too late…"

They quickly got into the TARDIS running as the head lost more and more of the link. Rose threw the head onto the console and the Doctor quickly attached two wires to the ears.

Suddenly the console beeped and the Doctor shouted, "Fantastic! Wow, it has been awhile since I said that!"

Rose grinned from ear to ear. "Too long indeed, Doctor!"

They broke out of their reverie as Martha cried out, "It's melting!" The mannequin's head was melting right before them right on the console!

The Doctor pleaded with it. "No… no… no. Not yet, can't lose the signal! Oh no, that's badder than bad! It recognizes us and its going to start the transmit before we can stop it!" He went back to silently pleading with it. "C'mon… c'mon, use your head!"

The TARDIS' engines than began to pulsate beginning the dematerialization sequence much to their surprise…


	6. Saving the Doctor

The TARDIS' engines stopped and all three ran out of the doors to find themselves on the boardwalk next to the Thames. Rose noticed it was the exact same spot as her first time with the Doctor and muttered, "Spooky."

"Oh you great big beautiful machine! The TARDIS flew here by itself!" exclaimed the Doctor. He had to admit this was one of those times where he was extra proud of his ship.

Martha pointed out the obvious. "Where's the Autons?"

"The TARDIS tried her best and took us as close as she could when she lost the signal. We're close, so close, Martha. Now think, think, think where's their transmitter?"

Rose probed her memory. "Does it still gotta be a giant circular object to transmit the signal?"

"Yeah, but the question is where is it?"

Martha shouted and pointed. "The London Eye behind us!"

The Doctor turned around with a mile wide grin. "Molte bene, Martha!"

The three quickly ran closer to the eye as time began to run out. Rose found a manhole cover and quickly pulled it out. "Here! It's gotta be underground!"

Rose scaled down the ladder into the sewer followed by the Doctor and Martha.

The Doctor sniffed as soon as he landed on his feet in the sewer. "Oh, it's definitely down here. I can feel him… or her. No, them. Yes, I can smell them. They're down here."

Martha and Rose plugged their noses from the very pungent sewer smell as Martha remarked sarcastically, "Something sure is down here."

The women followed the Doctor, who claimed he could smell it, while all they smelled was what could be best described as a combination of dead rats, vinegar and cabbage. Before long, they were scaling down some ladders before they could see a bright pool of liquid that appeared to be alive.

Rose recognized it and yelled, "The Nestene Consciousness!"

The Doctor held them back. "Give me a moment to address them. More than one body and they'll be afraid."

Rose motioned to protest upon her memory of what had happened the first time. "Doctor the last time…"

"Please, Rose. New universe, new outcomes." The Doctor half smiled to encourage them and then turned his body to go down on more ladder to face the Consciousness. The women stayed and complied despite their worries.

The Doctor huffed out his chest and proclaimed, "I address thee Nestene Consciousness in accordance with the Shadow Proclamation. I demand you stop attacking this planet!"

The liquid pool that was the Consciousness roared but Rose and Martha couldn't understand the meanings behind the method of telepathic communication. Some things never change Rose thought.

The Doctor continued his negotiations. "Don't give me the constitutional rights bit; I'm sick of that excuse! You're invading and it's an unfair fight!"

The Consciousness roared again and four mannequins approached the Doctor from the dark corners around him. As if on cue, one of them walked up to pull out a tube from his coat.

"I really wasn't going to use it! I wanted to give you a first chance!" A couple of the mannequins quickly restrained him from moving while the Doctor continued to physically protest. "I really wasn't going to! I swear!"

The Consciousness noticed the TARDIS through the Doctor and roared in a deep fear. The Doctor looked up at the two women who were hiding with a grim face as Rose remarked quietly to Martha, "We're too late. It's terrified, so they're trying to mount a fight and its sending out for reinforcements." Rose and Martha stared silently for a few seconds at each other's eyes wondering what they could do.

Meanwhile above ground, mannequins began crashing through windows and attacking humans with screams being heard all over London. A man was strangled by one and another one shot a terrified older woman killing her.

More mannequins began quickly crawling down the ladders into the sewer having noticed Rose and Martha and realized the need to stop them.

Rose regarded Martha desperately. "Martha, we've got one shot at this...you got any gymnastic training?"

"No! You got a plan or something?" The mannequins were getting closer.

"It's déjà vu!" Rose had yelled sounding just as mad as the Doctor thought Martha.

Rose took action knowing exactly what she needed to do. She ran toward an axe fastened to the wall, pulled it out, and used it to hit one of two chains stuck into the wall. Rose than broke one of the chains and threw Martha the axe. "Break the chain! We've gotta save the Doctor together!"

Martha than promptly broke the second chain with reckless abandon as their pursuers were almost in reaching length. As if in synchronization, each of the women took one looking at each other with wide eyes of anticipation.

Martha shouted and motioned with her fingers, "Three, two, one, go!" On 'Go' they both jumped as the mannequin were centimeters from grabbing them. The women swung into the air straight into the mannequins holding the struggling Doctor. Both mannequins quickly lost their balance upon impact and fell along with the anti-plastic, that was held, into the Nestene Consciousness pool. Rose promptly jumped from the chain before she would have fell into the liquid and the Doctor caught Martha in his arms.

The Nestene Consciousness began to yell in a deep pain as it began to die with the Doctor looking on sadly shaking his head. The mannequins that had been descending the stairs trying to attack them slowed down, stopped moving, and fell to the ground.

Above ground the other mannequins were doing the same and people began getting up from their trembling positions to watch their attackers gradually cease moving. The terrorized people caught their breaths as they watched, without a signal, all the mannequins fall to the ground one by one.

The loudness of the dying Nestene Consciousness began to cause a cave-in causing a lot of debris to fall on the three heroes. The Doctor madly excitedly exclaimed, "Run!" He instinctually grabbed both Rose and Martha's hand in a rush so they could get out of there before it caved-in for good. With a wild laugh from all three, they took off running despite the world crumbling and crashing around them…


	7. A Life Altering Decision

The Doctor, Martha, and Rose were silently walking on the boardwalk having just escaped the cave in below them. As they walked the water gently crashed into the shores and a faint hum could be heard as civilization got right back on track.

Rose smiled awkwardly. This was going to be difficult. "We made a great team, didn't we?"

The Doctor nodded sadly while Martha shared the sentiment. He replied, "We did. The Three Musketeers would have been proud." The Doctor bittersweetly laughed from his joke as the humor felt out of place between them.

Martha could sense what had to happen next so she told them, "I'll head back to the TARDIS. You two need a moment." Martha wasn't stupid. Whether Rose stayed or not with her and the Doctor had to be a decision that Rose had to talk about alone with him. As Martha opened the TARDIS doors she looked back at those two with resignation before closing them behind her.

Just like old times, it was once again just the Doctor and Rose standing there on the pier. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Between them time had become their worst enemy and changed everything. There was no real shared joy between them but instead there was a mountain of unanswered questions and impending doom.

Rose didn't have the bravery to say it to his face so instead she stared at her shoes. "Time for you to get back to your proper universe, ay, Doctor?" She figured this was it. He was going to go for good this time and leave her behind. Her whole family was here and they wouldn't want to be split up. Pete would never leave and Jackie would never leave Pete. They'd stay behind, even Mickey. If she went with the Doctor and Martha she'd never see her family again. Forever. The weird thing was that everything within Rose told her that things would still be ok. She loved her mum and she knew it would hurt herself a lot, but the Doctor was everything to her. During the past couple of years she had felt that something had been missing in her life. She had been happy but at the same time completely unfulfilled. Even if things between them never went beyond a deep friendship, that would have to be earned once again, it would always be worth it. Rose had been successful at Torchwood and had really made something of herself, including a loving family behind her every step, but she never felt fulfilled without the right piece to her puzzle. She needed to rejoin the Doctor in the stars more than anything and she had to convince him of it.

The Doctor resignly replied as if this was it, "Yea."

"Or I could… I dunno. I could come back with ya." Rose had lifted her head to smile hopefully at him.

The Doctor brightened a bit having let his hopes take over before becoming serious. Rose was human and she was being asked to make a decision without considering the aspects that really made her human. He had to make her understand this even if it meant losing the option to have what he really wanted. "But Rose, you have a mother, a father, friend, and a little sister or brother."

"Brother… Tony."

"Right, Tony, you'd leave all that love behind. You may be happy to go with me initially but you'll grow to hate me and I don't want you to hate your life ever, Rose. You have so much to live for right here." The Doctor pointed to the ground to emphasize.

"We all leave home in the end don't we?" It was a statement more than a question.

"I don't think you really understand, Rose. Martha can go back whenever she wants. I… can't. You… won't. That's it. Forever." The Doctor gestured to show the finality of the statement.

Rose understood his argument but she also didn't think he understood where her true motivations lied. She had to remind him. "What is it that I told you the last time I saw you?"

The Doctor wasn't sure what she meant by that but the wounded memory became fresh in his mind. "You… you told me you loved me."

"And I love my mum. I do… but she knows where my heart really is."

The Doctor paused knowing exactly what she meant. He could read timelines and a decision made now could not be made without considering the feelings down the road. The Doctor had to make it abundantly clear despite the damaging of his own heart strings. "Fine, but you're stuck with me, Rose Tyler. Once you yearn for that life of normalcy and children there will be nothing left for you to turn to and you need to realize that you're making that decision right now. This is a life altering decision. It has to be made with more than just the heart because all those years ago when I stole a TARDIS, if I had to choose…" He stopped himself because he knew the answer to that statement and he knew it would hurt her.

Listening to him made Rose regret her decision because he was right. What if the Doctor had been faced with a permanent decision when he had left his planet? Would he have left home and ran for adventure if he thought he could never see a single person of his race ever again? Would he have left if she had been the one to offer him that opportunity? Rose realized then and there that he never would have left home because he never wanted to be the last. "I regret…" She briefly stopped herself.

Regardless of what the Doctor would have done did not define what was right for her. If she had learned anything from her time spent with him, it was that sometimes the right choice sounded like the stupid one. Her life was like a great big red button but she wasn't sure if she should press it or not. Rose laughed out loud to herself about the absurdity of it all. "I regret the Rose in another universe that didn't get the chance to choose."

The Doctor grabbed her hands happily. She looked like she had no idea what she was going to choose but he was ok with that because she fully understood. "Me too."

The pair began to walk slowly when Rose pulled out her phone. Walking with the Doctor with hands held had helped her make a decision she was completely confident in. Whether this was the last walk or the first of many she had to tell her mum about what she had chosen. This was going to be so hard for her because someone's heart would break, but it had to be done.

The Doctor watched her with silent anticipation and a grim face while she dialed her mum and waited for it to ring. Her mum's voice rang through the phone into her ear. "Rose, darling, how are you?"

Just her mum's words caused her to cry because once she said her decision out loud, it was final. "Hey mum it's me. I… I'm not sure what to say here" She turned to face the Doctor making them stop their progress as she stared into his eyes with a grim expression. "But… but I'm sorry. I'm finally going home again." She had pushed the button and nothing would ever be the same again…


	8. Next Time Trailer

Next time on Doctor Who:

Rose exclaims happily, "Sounds like we found ourselves another adventure!"

The news station flashes on a television with a reporter saying, "Today, in London, a new invention will be unveiled. A man by the name of Orville Toms has invented a new prototype of the automobile. Toms has found out how to make cars fly."

Suddenly, a burst of energy flows into a car without human aide and it begins to light up. The engine turns on and the car appears to be on autopilot…

A man in a suit stands in front of a large crowd gathered in a formal meeting hall explaining, "Yes, I know it looks like an ordinary car. But, I will show you what makes my car a picture of what is to come!"

The car begins to lift above the ground…

The Doctor is completely perplexed explaining to his companions, "You don't discover how to make cars lift off the ground for another 100 years. Something is wrong. Oh, something is definitely wrong!"

The suited man proclaims, "Ladies and gentleman, the future of automobiles is before you!"

A crowd erupts into a huge applause with people shouting in glee while Martha yells out, "Incredible!"

The Doctor is underneath a car examining it while a young finally dressed man asks him, "You know of its origins?"

"It's a bit more distant than that. In fact… I almost can't believe it."

The Doctor pulls himself from under the car surprised and frightened at the same time. "It's from a race called the Daleks…"

Rose cannot believe it. "But that's impossible…"

A man holds Martha at gunpoint as he bellows, "One step closer and I'll shoot her!"

The Doctor turns his head yelling in fear. "It's too late!"

The car begins to move suddenly and smashes through the wall, wreaking havoc in the streets...

An unidentified but non-computerized voice yells terrorizingly. "Exterminate! Exterminate!"

-

Series 4 will continue with "Flying Car" next week!


End file.
